Dejanira (Autumn)

The centaur Nessus carries off Dejanira, the wife of Hercules, across the river Evenus, while Hercules, already across, hides among the rocky crags with a poisoned arrow ready. Gustave Moreau contrasted the centaur’s dark skin and muscular strength with Dejanira’s pale flesh and graceful figure, so that the two resemble dancers in a ballet rather than opponents in a struggle; the jagged mountains and hazy, mysterious landscape complete a picture in which forms dissolve into rich ornamental colour. The painting is held in the J. Paul Getty Museum.